Port Hueneme council approves 'In God We Trust' motto for City Hall

Port Hueneme will be the first city in Ventura County to post the words "In God We Trust" in City Hall after a 4-1 vote by the City Council on Monday.

The proposal was approved with Councilman Ellis Green opposed. The phrase, which must be posted without cost to the city, will be installed over council members' portraits outside the council chambers.

Although "In God We Trust" has been the national motto since 1956 — Congress adopted it amid strong anti-communist sentiment during the Cold War — some say the push to display it on government buildings is politically motivated and divisive. The Latin phrase "E pluribus unum," or "out of many, one," had been the de facto motto since 1782, when Congress adopted the Great Seal of the United States.

Mayor Sylvia Muñoz Schnopp pitched the proposal as a way to honor service members who live in Port Hueneme.

"It is now very appropriate to request that our city lead the way in Ventura County to display our national motto, 'In God We Trust,' at City Hall," she said at Monday's hearing. "You see, I also do this on behalf of our men and women who defend our freedoms, those who are military veterans, reservists and active-duty personnel who live in our community."

She noted that the words were reaffirmed as the national motto by the U.S. House of Representatives in a resolution adopted this month and have been a part of American life since the Civil War, when they were first inscribed on coins. They now appear on all U.S. money.

"We live in uncertain times, and the threat to our society is that we forget about the past or ignore the important things that formed and shaped us into who we are as a nation," she said.

Muñoz Schnopp said Tuesday she used materials from In God We Trust America Inc., a Bakersfield nonprofit founded by Bakersfield Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan, whom she met a few years ago at a League of California Cities conference.

"I was encouraged with the number of cities she had worked with in California," Muñoz Schnopp said.

Sullivan's group, which has been active since 2002, wants to get the motto displayed in every city, county and state chamber in the country. About 89 cities and counties in California have approved the idea, as well as about 265 across the country, according to the group's tally.

While some religious icons and activities in the public sphere — crosses, displays, certain prayers — have triggered lawsuits, the motto is generally viewed as safe from such challenges.

Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, a nonprofit specializing in legal defense of religious and other issues, promised Sullivan's group it would defend for free any cities or counties sued for displaying the national motto.

So far, that hasn't been necessary.

"The reason is because everyone, including the ACLU, knows it would be a foolhardy effort to challenge the constitutionality of a local government posting the national motto of the United States of America," Dacus said.

Rob Boston, senior policy analyst with Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit dedicated to preserving church-state separation, agreed there's not much of a legal fight to be had.

"Courts have ruled use of a generic motto like that is acceptable, calling it 'ceremonial deism,' " Boston said.

COUNCIL DISMISSES CONCERNS

During Monday's session, Councilman John Sharkey appeared to be heading for a confrontation during his "inspiration" at the beginning of the meeting, citing the words of the Rev. John Leland in 1802. He advocated the separation of church and state.

But Sharkey clarified his feelings, saying his objections were largely fiscal. He supported the idea provided contributions, not the city, pay for the estimated $500 cost.

Councilman Green said he strongly disagreed with the majority.

"I was born in the Bible Belt and served in the U.S. Navy to defend the rights of all Americans," he said. "I'm a devout Christian. The concept of separation of church and state is real. It's not imagined. It is not our right as a council to impose our deity on anyone."

Most community residents spoke in favor of the proposal.

Sheryl Malone said the saying was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956 in response to the anti-communist sentiment generated by Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

"I personally trust in God," she said. "But I oppose where it will be put. What if a council member doesn't believe in God? You should put it in another place."

Despite her concern, Councilman Norman Griffaw moved to allow the motto to be on the City Hall wall if the city bears no financial responsibility.

Councilman Douglas Breeze also supported the idea, saying: "Miss Malone said that it was adopted because they were fighting communists. We're not fighting communists; we're fighting other people."

After the proposal was approved, Breeze promised to write a check for $100 to go toward the cost of putting up the motto. James Daniels, a former councilman, offered to donate another $100, or even pay the entire $500, if need be.

Muñoz Schnopp said Tuesday she doesn't know when the motto will go up, but emails and calls she has received since the meeting indicated enough donations had come in to pay for the letters.

As to the criticism from some that the motto could disenfranchise some residents, she said all people can have their own opinions.

"I believe we were speaking for the majority of the people who are in the community," she said.